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Intestinal permeability (Cyrex array 2)

£275.00

Requires a sample of 2 MIS Serum. (Recommendations for phlebotomy services will be provided after the order has been received. Prices for these services vary depending on your location.)

You will receive your test kit within 2 working days of your order.

Your sample needs to be sent guaranteed next day delivery or via courier – (not included in price)

Turnaround time for receiving results is 14 working days. We will be sent your results first and will then dispatch them to you. We offer a service to interpret your results and provide you with recommendations to improve any findings within them. This would require an initial consultation with us – you can book an initial consultation on our booking page

Description

Intestinal permeability is sometimes to referred to as “leaky gut”. It is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, causing partially digested food particles, waste products and bacteria to “leak” through the intestinal wall.

Normally the intestinal lining acts a barrier between the digestive system contents and the bloodstream. The cells that make up the lining are held together by connections called tight junctions. When these tight junctions become damaged the particles that leak through can interact with immune cells, triggering a reaction. This reaction can lead to symptoms such as headaches, brain fog, irritable bowel, fatigue, joint pain, low mood, and anxiety. It can also contribute to the worsening of existing inflammatory or autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.

What causes increased intestinal permeability?

Leaky gut can occur whenever there is irritation in the gut or ongoing inflammation. Alcohol, aspirin and painkillers such as ibuprofen are well-known irritants of the bowel lining. They can damage the tight junctions between the cells, allowing some substances to pass through the gaps and into the bloodstream.

Inflammatory digestive conditions such as Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease and food sensitivities are also associated with leaky gut. As are an infection of the intestines by parasites or microbes.

Chemotherapy medicines, radiotherapy to the abdomen and immunosuppressing medications are all also known leaky gut triggers.

Laboratory analysis of intestinal permeability

Cyrex Array 2 measures intestinal permeability to large molecules which inflame the immune system and identifies the damaging route through the intestinal barrier.

It tests for the following antibodies.

Occludin/Zonulin IgG

Occludin/Zonulin IgA

Occludin/Zonulin IgM

Actomyosin IgA

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) IgG

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) IgA

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) IgM

Zonulin and occulin are proteins that open up the tight junctions of the intestinal wall, regulating how permeable the gut is. Researchers first discovered zonulin while studying intestinal infection cholera. It has since been shown that gluten can trigger zonulin release and cause the gut to become more permeable in people reactive to gluten.

As the gut becomes inflamed and breaks down during leaky gut, the immune system makes antibodies to zonulin and occludin. One way to evaluate leaky gut is to test for elevated zonulin-occludin antibodies.

Actomyosin antibodies are an indicator of intestinal destruction. Actomyosin is a complex of proteins that make up muscle fibres and contributes to contractions in the intestine. Antibodies to actomyosin signal a breakdown of the membrane lining the digestive tract and hence leaky gut.

Actomyosin antibodies indicate gut damage is severe enough to break through the cells, not just open the spaces between cells. This type of damage takes longer to repair.

The test also looks at antibodies to lipopolysaccharides (LPS). These are compound in the membranes of harmful bacteria that trigger inflammation. Immune cells in the mucosal lining do not normally interact with LPS when the gut barrier is healthy. It’s only when the gut barrier becomes permeable that the immune system will see the LPS and produce antibodies, so this is another marker we can measure to identify leaky gut.

LPS antibodies also signify an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.

The antibodies to zonulin, occludin, actomyosin, and LPS are measurable with a blood test. This is a simple way to confirm that leaky gut is the cause of your symptoms. You can also confirm whether you have corrected the problem with a follow-up test.